Sheepshead! | Fish University #543

Have you ever caught a marine fish that was dressed like a convict and had goofy-looking teeth that made you think you could hear a banjo playing in the distance? Ok, maybe that was unfair to all the banjo-playing fish out there, but you may have caught a sheepshead. Sheepshead can be found along the Western Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia down to Brazil, with high abundance in the Gulf of Mexico. They are common both inshore and on barnacle-encrusted structures from as shallow as two feet of water out to the oil platforms offshore. They are tender biters, hard fighters, and even better as a table fare. Although they have mostly swam under the radar (pun intended), the word is starting to get out on this species. To discuss sheepshead biology, movement, and management, Wes teams up with Dr. Mike Andres and his graduate student/research associate Alyssa Pagel. No sheep were harmed in the making of this podcast.  Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes! Watch this episode on YouTube (here)!